Protesters say Japanese whaling ship rammed its vessel

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - 01:12

Feb. 20 - An anti-whaling activist group, the Sea Shepherd, released video Wednesday which it says shows a Japanese whaling ship ramming one of its protest vessels in the frigid waters of Australia's remote Southern Ocean. Mana Rabiee reports.

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(MUST COURTESY SEA SHEPHERD AUSTRALIA)
A collision in the open sea -- and it apparently wasn't an accident.
An anti-whaling activist group released video Wednesday which it says shows a Japanese whaling ship ramming one of its protest vessels in Australia's remote Antarctic waters.
(ICR HANDOUT - MUST CREDIT THE INSTITUTE OF CETACEAN RESEARCH)
The conservation group, the Sea Shepherd, said it happened when two of its protest ships tried to stop the whaling ship from refueling with a tanker.
Former Australian Senator and Sea Shepherd Director Bob Brown.
"This is grand piracy, a complete breaching on a number of fronts of international and Australian domestic law….I am calling on the Australian government to dispatch naval vessels now, not just to film the slaughter of the whales by the Antarctic fleet but to restore international law."
(MUST COURTESY SEA SHEPHERD AUSTRALIA)
The Sea Shepherd said one of its protest ships was now taking on water in the engine room.
The group has clashed with Japanese whaling ships for nine whaling seasons in the southern hemisphere.